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Okay, we admit it. Lady comes with certain limitations. She’s a senior. Her limited vision and hearing make it so she can’t live with cats or most other dogs. And well, she needs daily medication for her arthritis. WAIT! Don’t click away quite yet. Even if you can’t personally provide a home for Lady, we could really use your help in spreading the word.

Although Lady has endured a lot of suffering in her life, she adores hugs and kisses, playing tug-of-war, and—it’s true—sitting in your lap! Despite her charming personality, she has been at our shelter for nearly two years. So we’re asking all of our supporters to use social media to help Lady find a home for the holidays. Please share this flyer on your Facebook, Twitter, blog and other social networks. Together we can find her a home!

If you live in a teens-and-up household and are interested in adopting this sweet girl, please call our Adoption Center in New York City at (212) 876-7700, ext. 4900, or come meet this special Lady in person.

Last night, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed into law a bill requiring all commercial dog-breeding facilities to be licensed and inspected—for the first time ever in the state’s history.

Friends, that’s a big step in the right direction for dogs in Ohio, a state known as a haven for puppy mill operators, and where untold numbers of dogs are currently languishing in filthy, barren facilities.

This law is the culmination of more than six years of work by steadfast animal advocates, including the ASPCA and our supporters, and we’re very encouraged to see it signed. “Ohio has taken a critical step,” says Cori Menkin, Senior Director of the ASPCA Puppy Mills Campaign.

Still, the law doesn’t go quite as far as we’d have liked. For one, it doesn’t require commercial breeders to provide breeding dogs with annual veterinary care, which is critical to ensuring the dogs are healthy and safe.

“This is just one of the problems that we weren’t able to fix, but the legislation is still a step in the right direction,” says Vicki Deisner, State Director of ASPCA Government Relations for the Midwest region. “We look forward to working with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to ensure humane standards of care are instituted through the regulatory process.”

We’ve got so much more work to do for puppy mill dogs in Ohio and other states. If you’re ready to join the fight, visit NoPetStorePuppies.com to get started.

It’s hard to understand how someone could beat an animal to death with a rock, and then proudly post a video of the grisly scene online. And yet, that’s exactly what one individual did. On December 3, ASPCA Agents arrested Jordan Heuer for attacking, injuring and causing the death of an opossum in a Queens, New York, park.

After the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) received complaints about a video of the incident posted online, the organization referred the issue to the ASPCA. We opened a criminal investigation.

“This is a disturbing case of violent abuse in which the suspect went out of his way to not only inflict pain on a helpless animal victim by smashing it repeatedly on its head with a rock, but to also record and post the brutal event on the Internet,” says Stacy Wolf, Vice President and Chief Counsel of the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement and Legal Advocacy departments.

Heuer, 18, was charged with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty—under current New York law, felony animal cruelty charges can be brought only in cases involving companion animals. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

“This is precisely the sort of case that supports making the more callous acts that cause serious injury or death to wild animals into felony offenses,” Wolf notes, citing the extreme depravity of the opossum’s death.

We couldn’t agree more, and our Government Relations team is on the case. Bill Ketzer, ASPCA Senior Director of Government Relations for the Northeast, adds: “We will continue to work with legislators…to help shape laws to cover these types of especially heinous acts, regardless of whether the animal victim is a pet or a wild animal.”

Retractable leads—those long leashes that extend to allow your dog to roam freely—are great for trips to a wide open space like a park. They let your dog sniff and explore more freely. But if you’ve got one that you use on daily walks in the city or on a busy path, it might be time to ditch it. Here’s why.

1. The leash can get caught on you, your dog, a cyclist or jogger and cause tripping, rope burn, cuts and even strangulation.

2. You might have the best-behaved dog in the world, but what about that other dog down the block? When you use a retractable leash, you’re opening your dog up to all sorts of dangers, including those posed by less-friendly dogs, bikes and cars. You may not be able to hit the brakes in time.

3. Retractable leashes allow your dog to approach other dogs uninvited, and that’s just downright inconsiderate. Other pet parents may not want their dogs to greet your dogs for a variety of reasons, including your own dog’s health and safety.

4. Perhaps worst of all, should you drop the leash in an already-busy area, its sudden retraction and the noise the handle makes when dragging on pavement can terrify even the most even-keeled dogs. That means your dog is much more likely to bolt.

We get why people are attracted to retractable leads, but for these reasons and more, we’re sticking with our dog’s good old six-foot leash when we’re on busy streets. For your pet’s safety, we hope you will, too.

At the ASPCA, we meet a lot of dogs…and to be honest, we fall in love with most of them! But some pups stand out as very, very special. A few even seem to serve as role models for us, reminding us to stay positive even in the face of adversity.

Johnny is a dog like that. Rescued by our Humane Law Enforcement department in August, Johnny had already been through a lot in his four years of life. He wasn’t able to use his back legs, and at first we thought he had been injured. Then our veterinarians learned he had a severe spinal infection that had left his hind legs paralyzed.

Our vets addressed his long-untreated infection right away and began the task of rehabilitating him. Slowly, Johnny regained his strength until finally, it happened: Johnny learned to walk again.

Through it all, Johnny remained the happy-go-lucky, cuddly, sweet little muffin he is to this day. He thinks he’s a lap dog and essentially lives for snuggling. Frankly, his cheery outlook on life is downright inspiring.

Though he won’t ever have a full range of motion again, Johnny gets around just fine and loves to use his legs. Now, he’s ready to go home—in fact he’s already waited months to meet his match.

Could you please help us spread the word about Johnny? We can’t wait to see his well-deserved happy ending. He doesn’t seem to want much beyond affection and kindness. He can live with kids eight and up and other pets, and he’d be happy in a home just about anywhere—he only needs people who are up for tending to his sensitive skin, and who have as much love to give as he does!